There is a need to substitute wood simulating products for solid or real wood products to reduce material costs. This need to substitute simulated wood products for real wood is particularly acute for hardwood products. These hardwoods include woods such as lauan mahogany, and other woods of that same family, the bulk of which come from the Philippines and other Pacific and forest locations. Over the last ten years, the availability of such woods has greatly diminished, and the remaining supply has diminished markedly in quality. There are also substantial environmental issues and concerns affecting both the quality and quantity of the real wood supply, in part, because these woods come from "rain forest" areas which have been "harvested" over the years as part of a general land clearing program which did not include replanting, etc.
A traditional method of manufacturing simulated wood products such as paneling, or door-skins for hollow core doors, involves utilizing a non-solid wood substrate such as a wood composite or fiberboard substrate and overlaying this substrate with a paper overlay and then applying a protective coating to the paper overlay. Vinyl overlays may also be used. There are numerous problems inherent in the traditional methods. These problems include the risk of the paper or vinyl overlay product peeling from the substrate. Another problem is that bubbles and blisters sometimes occur in the overlay process. Other problems are that the protective coating is not cleanable with a solvent or capable of being sanded to eliminate surface imperfections and scratches which occur during shipping and handling. Most importantly, the type of wood being simulated and the color of its stain must be determined at the manufacturing facility and is not changeable by the user at the installation site.